How to Shoot Steel Wool Photography!

Calling all photographers!

If you are looking to try something new, this is an easy method that creates awesome results. To achieve the effects displayed in the picture above, you will need a few things:

• Steel Wool (Grade #0000)
  
• Stainless Steel Kitchen Whisk
  
• Rope/String (I used Paracord)
  
• Lighter
• Safety Glasses (optional)
• Fire Retardant Gloves (optional)

WARNING this method contains flaming objects and can cause serious harm if not properly carried out. Please consider using the proper safety equipment when doing so! I'm not responsible for any injuries sustained.

1. Attach the rope to the kitchen whisk. If your kitchen whisk doesnt have a metal ring to secure the rope, either drill a hole through the handle (if its solid) or tightly secure the rope with a heavy tape such as packaging tape or duct tape.

2. Once the rope is secure to the handle of the whisk, pack the steel wool inside the whisk.

3. Setup your camera in the area that you would like to shoot in. Manually adjust the camera settings for your environment. For the shot above I used: 10 second exposure time | ISO: 200 | F-Stop (Aperture): 4.0 | Focal Length: 18mm
   If you are doing this alone, I recommend setting your camera on a timer or using a remote. Otherwise have someone else man the camera while you operate the whisk.

4. With the camera in place and the whisk ready to go you can now start the shot. Light the steel wool on fire with the lighter. Once the the steel wool is lit, start the exposure. If you are on a timer, I recommend lighting the wool, starting the exposure, then getting inside the frame.

5. With the steel wool lit, spin the the whisk in circle (or experiment!) during the exposure. Doing so will cause the steel wool to burner faster and fly out of the whisk. the camera will capture the streaking steel wool and your are left with this result.

6. Repeat steps 2-5 for more shots!

Enjoy!

Seth